On 20 June 2024, the New South Wales Parliament passed legislation to include a new criminal offence of industrial manslaughter under work health and safety legislation.
Under the amendments, a person conducting a business or undertaking (PCBU) or an officer of a PCBU who has a health and safety duty may be prosecuted for the death of a worker or another individual due to gross negligence.
The maximum penalty for the offence will be imprisonment for 25 years for an individual or $20 million for a body corporate.
The penalties will be considered the largest amongst the other States and Territories who have implemented the offence of industrial manslaughter – that is, all States and Territories except Tasmania.
The offence of industrial manslaughter will commence in NSW on a date fixed by Proclamation.
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